Marketo's 2012 Benchmark Report Proves Impact of Technology to Fuel Marketing Performance, Sales Effectiveness and Revenue Growth

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of his keynote at Marketo Summit 2012 (#MUS12) tomorrow, Marketo President and CEO Phil Fernandez will present key findings from the company's recent Benchmark on Revenue Performance Management (RPM). More than 400 companies participated in the global study that proves the more a company matures through marketing automation to a true Revenue Performance Management strategy, the better its revenue achievement.

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"Companies that embrace the reality of the revenue cycle and commit to a RPM strategy will capitalize on the changes happening in today's marketplace and grow like wildfire," said Fernandez.

The key findings of the report, released today, include:

Companies that are more mature at RPM generate more pipeline from their marketing efforts, enabling sales teams to spend less time prospecting and more time selling – to hot leads.

• Marketing generates 55% of pipeline at RPM companies, compared to only 38% of pipeline for average companies, and only 18% at companies with the least mature processes.
• When marketing takes a larger share of responsibility for pipeline generation, using lead nurturing and lead scoring to help sales focus on the hottest leads and opportunities, it frees the sales team to focus their time on direct selling. As a result, sales reps at leading RPM companies spend 69% of their time selling, compared to 57% for average companies and 46% for the least mature companies.

Companies that are more mature at RPM generate more revenue and achieve faster revenue growth.

• Companies that excel at RPM achieve 101% of their target revenue plans, while average companies achieve only 77% and the least mature companies achieve only 54%.

The Marketo Benchmark on Revenue Performance Management examined revenue performance maturity and performance metrics for each company across three categories: growing number and quality of leads and opportunities, improving sales effectiveness and optimizing sales and marketing ROI (return on investment).

Companies were then grouped into four levels of revenue performance maturity: Traditional Marketing, Demand Generation, Integrated Pipeline and Revenue Performance Management.

The study provides benchmarks for each maturity level to quantify the impact of improving revenue marketing and sales practices. The study data reveals difference by industry, as well as between companies with or without marketing automation.

To see the full results and methodology behind the Marketo Benchmark on Revenue Performance Management – or to take the survey – visit www.marketo.com/RPM.

About the Marketo Summit
Marketo Summit 2012 brings together some of the brightest minds in marketing and sales. Industry leaders, customer experts and Marketo thought leaders share their perspectives on marketing automation, sales effectiveness and Revenue Performance Management. . Attendees come away with the newest strategies and best practices on how to attract today's elusive buyer and rise above the choppy economy to achieve unprecedented revenue growth.

About Marketo
Marketo is the fastest growing provider in Revenue Performance Management. Marketo's powerful yet easy-to-use social marketing automation and sales effectiveness solutions transform how marketing and sales teams of all sizes work — and work together — to drive dramatically increased revenue performance and fuel business growth. The company's proven technology, comprehensive services and expert guidance are helping more than 2,000 enterprise and mid-market companies around the world to turn marketing from a cost center to a business-building revenue driver.

Marketo also offers Spark by Marketo™, a new brand of marketing automation tailored specifically for small businesses – the fastest-growing and largest segment of today's economy. Marketo was recently named one of "America's Most Promising Companies" by Forbes Magazine, the fastest-growing private company of 2011 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, and the "2011 CRM Market Leaders Awards Winner for Marketing Solutions" by CRM Magazine. For more information, visit www.marketo.com, or subscribe to Marketo's award-winning blogs at blog.marketo.com.

Marketo, Spark by Marketo and the respective logos are trademarks of Marketo, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Marketo